Recent news of Laura Linney’s surprise birth announcement had older mothers rejoicing. Linney was 49 at the time of her son’s birth. It’s the kind of feel good story that makes women like me – those who have crested 40 – think, “If she can do it, maybe I can too…”

But, Australian web site Mama Mia has a theory as to how celebrities seem to produce children later in life at a higher rate than the rest of us: donor eggs.

The article quotes Dr Ric Porter, director of IVF Australia, who says, “A pregnant actress in her forties gets a page in a magazine. But if those same magazines printed all the stories of all the women who couldn’t get pregnant, the magazines would be the size of the yellow pages. These celebrity ‘miracle pregnancies’ give women ridiculous expectations. I’m yet to see a patient who had viable eggs in her mid forties. Even with IVF, we’ve never had a pregnancy after age 45.”

Is it possible that all these celebrity mothers – like Halle Berry (gave birth at age 47), Susan Sarandon (46) or Kelly Preston (48) – used donor eggs but stayed quiet about it? The article describes it as “the last taboo of infertility”.

Personally, I know women who have become pregnant over 40, although I have to admit that I don’t know anyone over 45 who has. My only experience of moms in this age group is reserved for celebrities.

Here are some other celebrity moms who have given birth over the age of 40:

Recent posts

I’m a proud 45-year old mom-to-be, and while I did use IUI to get pregnant, it was done with my own eggs and my husband’s sperm. To say that someone hasn’t seen anyone over the age of 45 get pregnant without assistance is simply ridiculous. I have heard of plenty. It does and can happen. Not often, but even with assistance, it can happen. I won’t argue that these celebrities may use donor eggs, but don’t discount those of us who used all of our own material.

HappyHippie

Sure can – I did! But I also had a doctor who laid out the stats and gave me the “now or never” talk. I’m glad he did and I wish more docs were as up front as he was, because that helped me convince my reluctant hubby that it was, indeed, now or never. I won’t say it was easy being pregnant at 40 – and those all-nighter’s with colicky babies sure would have been easier in my 20’s. But I’m probably a much calmer, more patient mom than I would have been in my younger days. And I certainly have no regrets…been there, done that, and these days, a Friday night spent playing Candyland is the exact place I want to be.

B

Laura Linney’s SON’S birth I’m sure is what you meant in that first paragraph 😉

Stacie Lewis

Thank you so much Rebekah! Can’t believe I did that. I’ve changed it now.

http://www.peanutbutteronrye.wordpress.com Peanut Butter on Rye

Why does there have to be a “secret” to getting pregnant after 40? Some of us are just darn lucky and require no help in that department. I had a baby at 40 and another at 43. I got pregnant both times within a month of stopping birth control.

One of my best friends had her last baby at 47. A former co-worker had one at 46. In both cases, these were surprise or “bonus” babies. So, you know they didn’t require any, ahem, assistance.

Jessica

My mom had two after 40 with no assistance. My dad’s mother had 2 of her 7 after she was 40. My aunt had an oops baby at 43. We are expecting our fourth and I am done after this. With this type of family history of late-in-life babies I am making my husband go in to get snipped. It does happen and I am taking no chances

Jeanie

So, just to be clear it’s not an insult to state that most women would or do need help to get pregnant in their 40s, cause needing infertility treatment at ANY age is not something to be ashamed of. Everyone has anedoctal stories about women who got pregnant later in life. But it’s a demonstrable fact that MOST women will have more trouble trying to get pregnant at 40 than 30. And that is a meaningful piece of information. Many things inform when we will try to have children, but I commend doctors like this for speaking up, because the realities of the “biological clock” needs to be part of that decision. Women thinking they can just decide to get pregnant at 40 OR take some magic pill and get pregnant(MANY infertility treatments result in NO baby) is not accurate and damaging. I went through infertility in my 20s, so my situation is a little different, but bottom line is infertility treatment SUCKS. Knowing that it’ll be hard to conceive at an older age doesn’t necessary mean that your life will work out for you to have kids at 25 or 30, BUT women should be informed about the actual facts, not that their aunt or their neighbor or their friend got pregnant at 40 or 45. Ultimately these celebrities don’t “owe” anyone any info about how they conceived, but I do find it troubling when they are happy to do the cover of People or whatever and accept all the publicity, but not be upfront about the circumstances. There’s nothing wrong with using fertility treatments to get pregnant and there is certainly nothing wrong with using an egg donor. The stigma that surrounds this stuff is still very real and very hurtful for people that go through it.

http://people.com Tracy

I had to comment….had my 1st at 41 and I am pregnant with my 2nd – when she’s born I’ll be 45 and a half – both natural pregnancies. Tried and tried in my 30s with no luck, then sudenly in my 40s I seem very fertile. I know I am very lucky, but it does happen!

Jlynn

I know it happens as my mom, grandmother, two aunts, and mother in law all had kids in their 40’s. The thing is a lot of women in Hollywood have kids in their 40’s and I think what the author is trying to say is it is not always that easy and women need to be aware of the risk.
Infertility can strike at any age also. Life is crazy and different for everyone. I just think people need to be realistic and doctors need to tell people the odds and chances of it happening up front.

Denise

I had Meg at 40 and Zoe at 43. I used my own eggs and an IUI in both cases. It can and does happen. I believe that if something is meant to be then it is just meant to be. I do count myself as being very lucky though.

LA Mom

Yep, women can get pregnant after 40 without assistance. It happened to me twice, at 41 and 43. And it happened right away, 1 or 2 tries max. I know the odds were not in my favor, something like a 2-5% chance every cycle, so I know I’m extremely lucky, and I’m thankful for that every day.

But I also wonder if those odds are maybe a bit overstated, because I know tons of people who were given no chance of having kids at 40 and now some have 2 or 3 kids. Some people ask me if I had help and if I had, I would gladly tell them. I agree with poster #6, people need to get over the stigma. If more celebrities copped to IVF, IUI and egg donors it might lessen the shame.

Sandra

I did think there were probably donor eggs in play in this case. I had never heard of a natural pregnancy at age 49. All the pregnancies I know of on a personal basis after age 41 were all IVF, but I sure have nothing against IVF! My three cousins were born using that procedure. I tend to agree that donor eggs are probably very often used in these cases.

But for me, it wasnt the raising of the child at that age that got to me (my husband became a father in his early forties and seems to take to parenthood quite well) but it was the idea of giving birth at near fifty that just floored me. I found giving birth to be a massive challenge at age 24! I cannot imagine my body having to go through that at twice that age. Either way, I wish all the best to her and her son. She came to speak on my campus when I was a student and was a total riot.

http://www.AChildAfter40.com Angel LaLiberte

I think Dr. Porter, “who has yet to see a patient with viable eggs in her mid-40’s”, should visit our support website for women on the journey of motherhood after 40 at AChildAfter40.com. Not only did I conceive and give birth naturally at 44, we have articles from women who have conceived naturally as late as 50. Our most recent story is on a woman who had 3 natural births, all after 40, the last at age 47.
While I agree that our reproductive systems are subject to aging and declining fertility, to suggest that natural conception after 40 is nearly impossible is unreasonable and unfounded. If this were the case, where would the term “midlife baby” have come from?
Fertility should be assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account that, in addition to reproductive aging, a woman’s genetics, lifestyle, diet and stress levels all have an impact on natural conception.

Danielle A

My mother had my youngest sister naturally with zero fertility treatments When she was 40.5, 14 years after I was born! And she continued to have her period for 12 years that I know of. I’ve heard of a handful of women whose tactic was fertility boosting with extreme health diets (organic, vegetarian, etc)and pretty dedicated stress reducing exercise (yoga) and It worked

Pamela

first off…I adore Laura Linney for so many reasons, but especially this…and her role as Cathy in The Big C…for which I was captivated. I will purchase that show when Showtime decides to release all seasons in one set, and I will watch it and laugh & cry with all my soul.

Pamela

oops…premature send…haha!

My comment is to Sandra…
Surprisingly, I just had a baby boy….my own eggs, a little bit of my boyfriend’s sperm, a romantic Valentine’s Day trip to Sedona, AZ & a lot of destiny and wa-la…VERY much a surprise baby at 45! My other child, my daughter just turned 28 this year…previously an only child….she was pretty ecstatic about the whole thing,and I…was in shock, but blessed & filled with love for this little baby to come which I “just knew” was a boy from the day I found out I was pregnant.

I was told all of the staggering statistics on getting pregnant at this age naturally with no interventions, the egg implanting successfully, the body having enough of the proper hormones to nurture the egg so it can develop,the fetus having no genetic anomalies, the body being able to handle the strain of a pregnancy…I told all of this at my first appointment to confirm what the lack of a period, huge sore breasts & a home pregnancy test had already told us. This really did make me realize what a rarity and miracle it was to be so effortlessly creating this little man in my belly.

I had a rough pregnancy, with tons of aches & pains…and hyperemesis gravidarium (extreme morning sickness from hell, completely debilitating for the first 6 months leading to a super scary, nearly 20lb weight LOSS!)but then…towards the end….as the sickness slowed & the excitement built, I was able to really connect with the magic I had been blessed with.

Best of all, my baby was 100% healthy genetically & growing perfectly despite MY struggles & then came the birth….for which I was petrified until I got a Doula. She calmed me & assured me this is what I was made to do & that mt body would handle it beautifully just like it had, creating this little life.

Turned out my son came 11 days early, and after just a very…very short 3…yes three hour labor. It was so fast that, while the plan was to have him at the hospital (and in fact my Doula & I had just done our Maternity tour at my hospital two hours before my labor started) we didn’t make it to the hospital. My gorgeous, perfect son was born at home on my living room floor with me on all fours bending over my coffee table, 911 on the phone and attended by my 28 year old daughter & my Doula. the Paramedics finally arrived just in time to suction out the baby’s mouth & cut the cord!

100% totally natural, at home, no interventions, and nothing but love in the room. It was absolutely beautiful & I wouldnt have had it any other way. If I hadn’t been in so much pain, because I unknowingly was in transition, and hadn’t been so focused on maintaining composure….I might have had the good sense to be scared. But, I can honestly say…I never was. I felt powerful, blessed, protected, and almost….primal. it was awesome.

Pretty good for an old lady…hehehe…just kidding. I consider myself a very young 45, but I am still astounded by the ease with which my body handled my little mans entry into the world! Even easier than it was when I had my daughter 28 years earlier with a strong, healthy, YOUNG body!

Tania

I am living proof that women over 40 can get pregnant without assistance. I conceived Lana naturally when I was 41 years old and gave birth to her at 42. Apart from gestational diabetes which I also had with my previous pregnancy when I was 37, the pregnancy and birth went well. I had a lot of fears I had to overcome to try to get pregnant at my age but I’m glad I did it. What I am concerned about is when she’s at school people will mistake me for her grandmother!

Joni

I think the doctor is referring to women in their 40s who struggle with fertility, which are the only women he sees. Obviously, there are women in their 40s who can and do conceive babies naturally. These women do not seek fertility treatment and this doctor never sees them.

Women who do struggle with fertility and seek treatment (IVF or whatever) at a fertility centre have an extremely low chance of having viable eggs in their mid 40s (that’s why they are having trouble conceiving), and thus explains why he has never seen a woman past 45 in his clinic who has viable eggs.

Women who have fertility difficulties have a much better chance of conceiving when they are younger than 40, however.

Dena

One of the big differences not mentioned in the article or the comments is between having your FIRST baby after forty or forty-five, or having a subsequent children at that age. Studies show time and time again that it is much easier to have a baby late in life if the “flood gates” of fertility were opened much earlier in other pregnancies. It’s not that uncommon to see a mom having babies in her twenties or thirties and also into her forties. But having your first baby after forty-five without assistance is quite difficult.

http://thekoolchicken.wordpress.com koolchicken

I think when you’re having your first past 40 or 45 then yes, you’ll probably need help. But there are TONS of women who get pregnant naturally in their 40’s. Although all that I’ve known already had one or more kids. My MIL had her last in her early 40’s, she though he was early menopause. Talk about a rude awaking! My great-grandmother had her last in her 40’s, but like my MIL she’d already had children. In fact it was their fourth and fifth children and they both came more than a decade after the last.

Women in my family tend to have kids at a later age. Most of us have our first earlier, in our twenties but then there will be others later on. We also tend to be long lived so we don’t run into issues of kids growing up without grandparents and great grandparents. My mother was actually given the go ahead at 47 by her doctor. She said if she wanted another she was still good to go, but as she was unmarried my mother opted to not add to our family. And it’s a good thing as I had my son a year ago, and he would be only a few years younger than his uncle!

Paige

I had my one and only child when I was 40, the old fashioned way. I know lots of women that had kids in their early 40’s without IVF or whatever. Late 40’s…I don’t know anyone that did that naturally, or that even tried.

EmmaLee

Most IVF clinics won’t even accept a patient over 40 who is trying to use IVF with her own eggs, because there is almost no chance of success. So its pretty obvious these famous women are lying about using their own eggs. It is particularly obvious to those who work in the fertility industry, and other people who are going through infertility treatments and have already been told their odds. How pathetic will these women look someday when everyone finds out they lied to the public? Their own children will know someday, they may say “hmm, I don’t look like mom at all and she was over 45 when she had me”. DNA testing kits are widely available now, and will be even more commonly used in the future. You can look at a lot of these famous womens’ children right now and see they look NOTHING like their mothers. I don’t have a problem with them using donor eggs, but I so have a problem with them blatantly lying and giving other women false hop. Ladies, I KNOW YOU ARE LYING. Grow a backbone and say “hey, I used a donor egg and its no big deal”.

The publication also notes that software release dates are always subject to change. So, while we could see Google get its next update out in August, it’s also possible that we’ll see it arrive later in the year.

Get weekly e-mails with development articles, parenting news, and more!

Hot Topic

I vaguely remember learning the 5-1-1 rule. You know, you head to the hospital when your contractions are 5 minutes apart, lasting 1 minute long for 1 hour. During our Lamaze classes we were given instructions to cope with contractions and I anxiously awaited laboring at home. Except, it never happened. With my daughter, I… Read more »